Sunday, July 23, 2006

Me, my money, and my God?

Here's another angle on the money issue. This is a bit of a tangent from the continuity or otherwise of the law....

What connection is there between the widespread minimal giving mentality, of keeping money for ourselves, and an over-emphasis on my personal relationship with God? Put the other way, if we had more sense of becoming a Christian being about joining the people of God would that reset the balance and fuel our generosity...

I remember seeing a poster that suggested that the church has AIDS, because there are Christians who do. But we're more concerned with me. Likewise, has the Church has simultaneously given its heart to Mammon, and is starving... And we're often more concerned with our own bank accounts than with other believers...

When she was Prime Minister of the UK, Margaret Thatcher once said: ‘There is no such thing as society, only individuals and their families.’ One of the problems we face in the West is that of individualism. Individualism is the attitude that the most important thing is me: my happiness; my fulfilment; my dreams! I am the centre of my world; this is my world and I am God!

They continue:

...Christians will be lovers: lovers of God and lovers of others. As a result, the church will be a place of provision, security, acceptance, abundance, joy, peace and rest. An outpost of the world we all want right here in the middle of the world we all know!

If we sought to keep less in step with me and my place in society, and more in God's footsteps would we not pursue sacrificialy generosity? He is, after all, ultimately generous/gracious... and he calls Christians to keep in step with the Spirit of God...

John Piper did a session on childrens ministry at EMA and noted that one child had kept count of how many times Piper had mentioned God in the previous three months.... much to his encouragement it was a LOT of times...